I hope you all enjoy this 'breathing' exercise, that is so much more than just a breathing technique. My lower back has been progressing in pain over the past year, and no matter how much I worked at belly crunches, I wasn't seeing relief for my back. After being in chronic pain, an absence of pain is very radiant by comparison.

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are.Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow.~Mary Jean Irion

I've been doing the breathing exercise since last night and my stomach muscles are a "bit" sore but in addition to every thing else that's been going on (giving up sugar/wheat, specifically) I "see" a difference in the shape/size of my belly! Don't get me wrong, it's not flat, but it's closer to flat than it was at the onset of this adventure! That is some great motivation to continue on all fronts.

“Those who say it can’t be done need to get out of the way of those who are doing it.”

Really interesting Victoria, I had started doing almost this exact exercise to focus on my breathing for other reasons... I found myself breathing very shallow due to diaphragm pain from the detox in that region... I just have to force myself to "work" through the pain... The body doesn't do well without air cycling in and out.

Good job, Drea. It is more prodding to see benefits of an activity... You're through the real work now, as it is most difficult to work towards a goal without seeing results...

ABJoe,One of the unexpected side effects of that breathing technique has been a big improvement in the health of my gut, which is evidenced by the diminishing of pain and sensitivity in my mid-section. Also the "elimination" process has gotten quite impressive!

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are.Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow.~Mary Jean Irion

ok....after my breakout pizza party sun. nite.........I have returned to the true and righteous path!!!I am grainfree....sugarfree...and lovin' it! Last night I panfried new york steaks and had sweet potato and romaine salad with them.This morning, I fried up some leftover sweet potatoes and had a fried egg with it, topped with chopped cilantro.

I'm still really sore all over, but as I mentioned in the FS November thread, it's not flu ache, more like muscle ache. I should really find a good massage therapist closer to home.

Day 27 out of 30. I'm on the homestretch for the first goal, and my second goal is after the first of 2011 for the sugar/wheat free adventures. I'll add the red wine (diamond) back in to see if it causes undo cravings.

“Those who say it can’t be done need to get out of the way of those who are doing it.”

grainfree is such a great discipline because it forces us to think of other things to put on the plate than rice!!! Grains are such a go-to meal base...... (esp. for a former vegetarian like me)last night I made burgers and fresh haricot verts (those little french green beans) and a delicious brussels sprout salad!!! It's just halved brussels sprouts roasted in evoo with a bit of balsamic, and pecans roasted with them. And sw. potatoes.

KK here, Day 69 sharing. I live the grain-free lifestyle and my focus and goal is WEIGHT LOSS! I can't believe I've been this successful for this long. Head slap here!

We did some grocery shopping again today, getting a few small that would fit in our rotisserie, more ground and CASES of Gerolsteiner since it was on sale @ .99cents a bottle. (This one store has it on sale about 2-3 times a year, and we do try to stock up during that time. The next cheapest price we can find is $1.29 a bottle.) Our drinking water does consume a big part of our budget.

I had a "treat" on my steamed white for breakfast this morning, and that was (Neutral cod pieces that needed to be eaten up)

I've hardly had any butter at all in the last 30 days, ever since Lewis has been trying to cook with less fat, and staying within the Gatherer guidelines.

Another thing that I've been trying on my is exercising my abdominal muscles. While I'm walking I'm drawing in my abdomen and trying to hold the muscles in for short period, letting go and then drawing them in again. This has been a big help in controlling my low back pain as I walk.

I've tried the breathing exercise. The first time I did it, I got a warm, heat feeling in my diaphragm and/or psoas muscles. I could feel that I was doing the exercise correctly. I haven't been able to get that feeling of having worked those muscles again that last few times I've tried the exercise.

Breakfast was the white fish & green beans.

Lunch was a plum and about 3 servings of watermelon.

Dinner was the left over white fish and celery.

I will be on the again on Monday... I think Day 74 or 75, where I'm hoping to be down 2-3 more pounds.

Knowledge is power. SWAMI gives you the diet that will unlock the key to better health, and it's all based on your unique individuality.

If the breathing technique isn't a good fit for you at this time, a simpler one is just to relax the belly when you inhale, then pull in, contracting the abs when you exhale.

This one is easy to do while walking since we all need to breathe, and you are pulling in your belly to support your back anyway. This will gradually strengthen the muscles too, just not quite as fast and deeply as the other one.

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are.Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow.~Mary Jean Irion

I indulged in red wine last night, and yup, the sweet craving came rushing in. I didn't cave. I do have a slight red wine headache this morning. Well, that's good to know, in any case. I think the sauce that came with the mahi mahi chalupa bowl I ate yesterday might have had some sugar in it, too. It's purported to be gluten-free, though, so no wheat.

“Those who say it can’t be done need to get out of the way of those who are doing it.”

Last night, I started to feel a cough coming on, and this morning I can tell I'm slightly out of sorts. I don't have a scratchy throat, but I do have a bit more congestion in my sinuses than the normal clearing things out in the morning. An occasional cough; but not heavy. I don't feel like I have a temperature, but that I might be off a half a degree or something. I'll have to check.

Every winter, staying up late doing marathon sewing, living on Pepsi, I got sick. I would get the flu, then bronchitis and it would drag out. Last winter, it developed into a post nasal drip ---> deep cough that lasted almost 3 months. I had to go on a nasal steroid spray, but I really limited it as much as possible. I finally got better.

I "think" I know what did it. All that stevia & fruit juice. Or, it could be the large amount of Deflect I've been taking, (detoxing) up to 4-5 a day but I'm betting on the stevia and fruit juice.

I threw out the stevia and it will be straight Gerolsteiner until spring.

I'm taking Redoxa, ARRA6, Proberry. I'll have Lewis pick up a bottle of Astralgus (sp?) while he's out today, just in case this turns ugly, but I'm betting (hopeful too) that it won't. I'm feeling okay right now and I'm going to take it easy, do light housework and sewing and stay warm.

Last night, Lewis made this fantastic lamb stew. Or should I say, root vegetable stew with lamb. It took him hours and hours to peel and chop all the vegetables and whip everything together.

He took a small leg-o-lamb, under four pounds, and cut it up into chunks. He pan fried the chunks in a skillet to caramelize them a bit. He then got out our turkey roaster pan and cut up into small chunks LOTS of;

and started slow cooking them in the roaster pan, using two of the stove burners.

He added finely chopped parsley (gatherer diamond)After that cooked for about 1/2 hour, he added the lamb pieces.

He then cooked everything on the stove for at least and hour and a half probably even longer and the lamb chunks started to fall apart.

To thicken it up a bit he added a small amount of rice flour.

The last vegetable he added was white onion.

Once that onion cooked in a while, the flavors really started to blend and round each other out. He added sea salt to taste.

This is a heavenly, tasty stew. Lewis says, "It's a bit fatty. Don't eat too much at once." He didn't cut down the fat off the lamb like he usually does. I had a big bowl for breakfast with a sliced green pepper.

We would have added chicory root if we could find it, but we haven't found it at any of the 10 stores we shop at. So, even though this stew has mainly neutral vegetables, we can compliment it with a side dish of green superfood like bell pepper, zucchini, tomato, celery, or okra.

Knowledge is power. SWAMI gives you the diet that will unlock the key to better health, and it's all based on your unique individuality.

'Way back when' I was drinking double tall lattes or cappuccino's with maple syrup, I never dreamed that I would be drinking unsweetened green tea and loving it! It's been the same for me, Drea. As I have changed my diet, my tastes have changed.

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are.Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow.~Mary Jean Irion